voice leading - kirsten volness

Voice Leading

3 Dec 2018

Notating Chords

•  Full Score — all/most parts are notated on their own staff –  Parts are transposed for non-C instruments (Bb trumpet, Bb clarinet…)

•  Reduced Score — notated in C (concert pitch) on as few staves as possible –  Sometimes it only shows the parts playing at any given time

•  For SATB part writing, use a grand staff and separate voices by stem direction

•  Keep the S above A in treble clef and the T above B in bass clef. •  Each chord should have each voice represented. •  Double the root!

–  unless viiº, then double the 3rd — never double the leading tone!

SATB scoring

Voicing

•  How chord tones are distributed between voices •  Spacing changes the way we hear sonorities (chords)

Vocal Ranges

Spacing

•  Keep S, A, T within an octave of one another – Only T and B may have more than an octave

between them

Open and Close Structures

•  Close structure: less than an octave between soprano and tenor •  Open structure: an octave or more between soprano and tenor

(May be helpful to think about whether you could reach the top three notes on the piano at once)

Voice Crossing

•  Soprano and Bass are most important, so never cross them (S always highest, B always lowest)

Voice Crossing

•  Alto and Tenor can cross sometimes for musical reasons

LT must resolve up by step!